Permanent residence: Ottawa is drowning in files

OTTAWA | The immigration system is so overwhelmed that it will take five to seven years for Immigration Canada to get through the pile of permanent residence application files that are piling up in its offices in humanitarian categories, even though they are considered priorities.

“It’s absolutely appalling. People’s lives are left in a purgatory for years,” denounces NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who forced Immigration Canada to reveal these figures by asking a written question in Parliament.

By May, the pile was so large that 73,000 people were waiting for their permanent residence applications to be processed in the humanitarian categories. The MP emphasizes that this figure has only been able to increase since then, since new requests are constantly arriving.

The Guardian Angels of Quebec

These categories include guardian angels, these asylum seekers, often Haitians, who helped out in hospitals and CHSLDs in Quebec during the pandemic.

Quebec granted them a selection certificate in recognition of their services and Ottawa promised to grant them permanent residence. Without this sesame, they are prohibited from staying in Canada.

Several of them were already in this situation in the United States under the first Trump administration. Hoping for a better future, they fled via Roxham Road, as Washington threatened to deport them. Even today, Donald Trump says he will deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants from the United States.

Ukrainians who fled the war

Applicants for permanent residence in the humanitarian categories are also Ukrainians who arrived in Canada after Russia invaded their country in February 2022.

Ottawa had issued them a three-year emergency visa. The first to arrive therefore do not have much time left before becoming undocumented. They must quickly obtain a new visa or permanent residence, otherwise they will have to return to a country still at war.

Waiting times

But everyone must be patient, because the very large number of requests to be processed generates disproportionate waiting times. For an immigrant who resides in Canada and applies for permanent residence under the humanitarian categories, the average processing time is 23 months. If he lives in India, it’s even worse: 31 months.

In October, Ottawa announced that fewer new permanent residents will be accepted into the country starting next year, which should help relieve congestion in the system. However, the arrears already accumulated will not disappear, underlines M^me Kwan.

Immigration Canada has invested millions to catch up, and its staff has doubled since 2015. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials could not process paper files in the office. The ministry was therefore only able to work at 80% of its capacity for three years, assessed immigration lawyer Siavash Shekarian in a parliamentary committee.

Before the same committee, M^e Ravi Jain of the Canadian Association of Immigration Lawyers warned that widespread and persistent backlogs are undermining Canada’s ability to respond to humanitarian crises.

The ministry did not respond to the Journal’s questions.

Where have the majority of permanent residence applicants in humanitarian categories come from since 2018?

• Nigeria 17 549
• Haiti 16,722
• Hong Kong 13 810
• Chine 12 685
• Inde 11 215
• Ukraine 11 066

Average processing times by country of residence

• India 31 months
• United Arab Emirates 29 months
• Pakistan 27 months
• Canada 23 months
• Afghanistan 14 months

Source: IRCC